Silent Illusion
by Never And Ever
Summary: Ever since that fateful night, Harry had been neglected, ignored. His once loving parents spoiled his brother Matthew, the famed Boy-Who-Lived. After he disappeared on his eighth birthday, the magical world declared him dead. How very wrong they were. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello internet world! Yes, I'm aware this plot has been done heaps of times but I have been wanting write a wrong BWL fic for quite some time. However, I am horrible at writing multi-chapter fics so updates will be irregular. I seem to have more writers block than I do inspiration now-a-days. And if anyone will be awesome enough to Beta this, please send me a PM or drop me a review. I am a horrible editor. Thanks and enjoy!**

**Warnings:****None.**

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended.**

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Baby Harry gurgled and picked up his stuffed brown deer, Prongs, in a soft, plump hand, lifting it up to his mouth. His fraternal twin brother, Matthew, lay next to him in their shared room, playing with a miniature model of the latest broomstick Uncle Padfoot had gotten them. Harry put the soft toy into his mouth and began chewing on it with tiny teeth, salvia wetting the plush. Their parents were out tonight with Uncle Moony and Uncle Padfoot and Uncle Wormy had been minding young Harry and Matthew. Or, at least he had been, before he had put Matthew and Harry in their room and had rushed to the floo, muttering about how 'master would be very pleased with him'. That had been well over half an hour ago and Harry was starting to get hungry, as well as worried. Uncle Wormy hadn't feed Matthew and himself before he had left and by now it was far past dinner time. He had just literally dropped the both of them on the floor in their brightly coloured, toy filled room before making a hasty escape. Harry had heard the sound of the floo being activated before the house had been filled with a rare silence, only broken by the occasional sniffle and giggle from either of the two children.

Harry sat up and turned to his brother, pulling the saliva soaked toy from his mouth and dropping it on the soft carpet beside him, where it laid forgotten. He pushed black, messy hair from his emerald green eyes with a clumsy fist. He had heard a noise that sounded as though the front door had been pushed open. A smile lit up his face, his eyes glinting in happiness. Mummy and Daddy were home! He heard a person downstairs in the living room before slow, heavy footsteps on the stairs and then the door to the bedroom creaking open. The smile disappeared from his face and was replaced with a frown. It wasn't Mummy or Daddy. It wasn't even Uncle Wormy. It was a tall, obviously male figure clothed in black. His features were serpentine, so much so that Matthew, who had had suffered from a phobia of snakes ever since he had accidently disturbed one and he had almost been bitten before Daddy had stopped it, began to cry and whimper pathetically.

"'Nake, 'Arry, 'nake. Help, Dadda, help." He lisped.

The snake like man looked towards Harry and Matthew and smiled, a chilling smile, one so fake it looked as though it had been glued on. A shiver ran up Harry's small back. The man was scary and Daddy wasn't here to save them.

The man walked towards them and said in a high pitched, cold voice "So this is the _child _destined to defeat me? Little Harry Potter. Pathetic. " The man stood in front of Harry, smirking down at him as though Harry was his prey, as though he wanted to _hurt _Harry. Why would he want to hurt Harry? Harry was a good boy. He always ate his vegetables and didn't fuss like Matthew when Mummy tried to put him to bed. Matthew began to cry harder and the man glanced towards him, as though he hadn't even noticed him before.

"I suppose I will have to kill you too, child. I will completely destroy the Potter's precious children, their perfect family. But first, young Harry," The man crouched before Harry on the floor, bringing a wand to Harry's temple. Harry cried out as it poked painfully into his forehead, digging into the soft flesh, and twisted to get away from the creepy man. The man just muttered a strange word under his breath and Harry found himself unable to move. His eyes began to fill with tears and he looked to Matthew frantically, his eyes begging for help. Matthew just sat there crying, not even attempting to help his brother. The tears began to fall, sliding down his cheeks and wetting the collar of his pyjamas.

"Avada Kedavra," The man whispered in a quiet, menacing voice, the plastic smile still twisting his already hideous features.

There was a searing, blinding pain in Harry's forehead, centring where the man had had his wand pressed. He screamed and shook his head wildly, trying to shake off the horrendous pain clutching at him. It was pure agony, it felt as though someone had tried to cleave his head in two. The man was screaming too and suddenly the house began to shake and fall apart. Large cracks appeared on the celling and the large window by Matthew's cot shattered, a piece of glass fall and catching Matthew left hand. A piece of plaster from the ceiling fell and hit Matthew across the chest and Harry saw long, ragged cuts appear where the plaster had hit Matthew and cracked. His brother screamed in agony and then fell blissfully unconscious. The man had disappeared at some time in the commotion and Harry pitifully tried to crawl to his brother, to at least try to pull the plaster shards from his chest.

Before he could reach him a large piece of what was left of the ceiling fell and hit Harry across the head, jolting his neck and cutting into his already wounded forehead. Harry screamed and cried. The wood had made the ever-persistent pain in his forehead even worse. His head spun and he felt sick to the stomach, nausea twisting his insides and bile filled his throat. He longed for his Mummy and Daddy to save him from the awful pain tearing his skull apart. With considerable effort, he turned his head toward the destroyed door to their room.

He heard an obviously female scream from the front door, followed by a masculine shout of "Lily!" He heard footsteps flying up the stairs and more shouts, but by now the pain had numbed his mind and he couldn't make out the words. The door had begun spinning now and everything was blurry, colours smudged and mixed. He could see what he presumed to be Matthew's prone form, but he wasn't sure as everything was beginning to darken. "Mu- Mummy." He whimpered. "Mummy!" He tried again as loud as he could, before coughing weakly as his voice cracked and he felt blood wet his mouth, the copper taste on his tongue.

The last thing he was his Mummy standing at the door the ruined bedroom, staring inside, her mouth open in a silent scream. Then, he succumbed to the darkness.

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**Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey internet world! So, I finally got wrote this out! Yay for update! This is set seven years after Godric's hollow, on Harry's eighth birthday. So much response from the first chapter! Thank you all for all your lovely favourites and alerts! And so many lovely reviews! Is anyone interested in Beta-ing? Please let me know if you are. Well, enjoy!**

**Warnings: Not Beta-ed, only editing done by myself.**

** Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended.**

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Harry awoke to the sound of his brother screaming downstairs to his parents, as was usual for the boy. Matthew was probably demanding his breakfast or throwing a tantrum. Blinking away the last dregs of sleep and putting on his old, slightly cracked round glasses, he glanced around his small room with a sigh. When the family had moved to Potter Manor, after Matthew had vanquished You-Know-Who, Harry had been living in a small room in an unused part of the manor while Matthew's room took up an entire floor.

Ever since Matthew had been declared the Boy-Who-Lived he had become a spoilt brat. Lily and James did nothing to stop this; they bought Matthew whatever he wanted, took him to Quidditch games and generally let him walk all over everyone while Harry, on the other hand, was ignored and neglected. Even Harry's godfather Sirius favoured Matthew. His parents had become arrogant, bragging about Matthew whenever they had the chance. While his parents had never physically hurt him, Harry sometimes wish they did, just so they would pay attention to him. The only time Harry was spoken too was when he was being scolded for something Matthew had blamed him for. Because of this, as much as Harry craved his parents love, he avoided them as much as possible.

"MUM, WHERE ARE MY PRESENTS?" A shrill, grating voice coming from downstairs screamed. That would be Matthew being his usual demanding, arrogant self. Not in the wizarding worlds opinion though, no, Matthew Sirius Potter was an angel, a saviour. Only Harry saw him for what he really was; a spoilt, arrogant brat.

But what did he mean, presents?

"BUT MUM, IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!" Matthew screamed again. Oh! It was Harry's birthday, as well as Matthew's. Not that anyone would get _him_ any presents, or a card.

Harry dragged himself out of his small single bed and pulled on his shabby, second hand clothes. He went downstairs to the small dining room the Potter's used for informal meals. He entered the room and was greeted with chaos.

Matthew was yelling at his mother, his chubby face almost as red as his hair. Lily was kneeling down in front of him, trying to calm the furious child. It seemed that Matthew had had one of his tantrums again; there was food sticking to the walls, milk spilt over the floor, a chair was missing a leg. According to Dumbledore, these tantrums were a sign of Matthew's 'power', so James and Lily never punished him when he broke something or misbehaved. If anything, they encouraged it.

Harry crept into the dining room and headed towards the table, trying to be as quiet as possible. He took some toast from a nearby plate and tried to sit down without being noticed. As he sat down at the table, his father, James Potter, and his two best friends Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, entered the room. James picked Matthew up and spun him around.

"Happy Birthday, Matt! I can't believe it, eight years old already!" James said as Matthew giggled, distracted from yelling at his mother. No one said anything to Harry, who was eating his toast as quickly as possible.

"Uncle Padfoot! Uncle Moony!" Matthew said. "Have you brought me any presents?"

"A whole bag of 'em in the living room, Prongslet, you just have to wait until your party starts." Black grinned. Harry sighed. He remembered, back when his parents still loved him, being called Prongslet. After all, Matthew looked nothing like James Potter. All Matthew had inherited were James' hazel eyes, while Harry had everything other than his bright green eyes.

"What happened in here?" Lupin asked, seeing the state of the room.

"Oh, Matt just got a bit over-excited." Lily smiled adoringly at her son. "Honestly, I don't know how Molly handles seven children, one is difficult enough!" Laughter filled the room as the family began eating breakfast, which was full of Matthews's favourites. Tears filled Harry's eyes. Two children, not one! Harry dropped his half eaten toast on his plate and ran from the room. It was comments like that that made Harry feel truly worthless.

Harry walked quickly though the large, spacious manor, climbing stairs and passing a giant ball room decorated in gold and red before he reached his destination- the Potter Library. He walked between the many shelves, trailing his fingers along the spines of the books he could reach. He pulled several large tombs from the lower shelves and began reading, absorbing all the knowledge he could.

Hours later, Harry was jolted from his reading by the sounds of shouting and giggling. That would be Matthews's friends, then, the Weasley's. Ever since Harry could remember, the Weasley's had been close family friends with the Potters. Ronald Weasley, Matthew's best friend, hated Harry with a passion. He caused Harry as much trouble as he possibly could and generally tried to ruin Harry's day. He was the primary reason Harry's glasses were broken, Ronald would often push Harry down stairs or into walls. Harry hated it when the Weasley's came over, which was often.

Harry put down his book. There was no point trying to read now, not with the noise coming from the Ball Room, where the party was being held. He left the library silently and left his book where it was, where he knew it would gather dust, as hardly anyone ever went in the library.

As he passed the Ball Room, he couldn't help but glance into the room, hoping that maybe, just once, someone would invite him to join the party.

The Weasley's, his parents, several reporters who had come to write about the Boy-Who-Lived's birthday and Lupin and Black where all gathered around Matthew, who was seated under a large, red and gold banner that proclaimed, "Happy Eighth Birthday, Matthew!"

Harry bit back a sob. There was a large pile of presents next to Matthew, things that Harry knew he would break within the week. Nothing was for Harry. Even the large, chocolate cake proudly stated Matthew on it in bright red icing, not the Potter Twins, not Harry and Matthew. Just Matthew.

Harry ran to his room, fighting back tears. What had he done wrong? Why didn't his parents love him anymore? He knew that Matthew was more important than him, but they could spare a minute for him! Couldn't they?

Harry collapsed on his small bed. They wouldn't even care if he died! He could just disappear, right here, right now, and no one would even notice!

Tears streamed down his face. He wished he could just disappear! He wished and wished it with all of his heart.

Harry felt an odd, disturbing sensation, as though he were being forced though a rubber tube far too small for his body. What was going on? He lurched forward and fell to his knees, his glasses sliding off of his nose. He groped around for his glasses and wiped the tears from his eyes. However, as soon as his vision cleared, he realised he was _definitely _not in Potter Manor anymore.

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**IMPORTANT!**

**Okay, so I'm thinking of bringing in an original character. I SWEAR, she will NOT be a Mary Sue. She will purely be Harry's best friend, NOT a love interest, someone who will give him support .I would use a cannon character, but I can't think of anyways that I can incorporate any of them to be Harry's friend, considering I'm planning on bashing most of them. I want to know your opinion on this. I think it's a good idea and I would like to write it but I know heaps of people hate OC's. So review and tell me if you want Harry to have an OC friend or no friend at all. If anyone wants more details on her character please P.M me, I'll be happy to answer any questions. Thanks! Until the next update!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey internet world! I have a horrible cold and am so tired. Bleh. I hope you are all feeling much better than I am. Anyone interested in Beta-ing? Thanks and enjoy!**

**Warnings:**** Not Beta-ed, only editing done by myself.**

**Disclaimer:**** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended.**

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Harry glanced around in wonder. From his position on the ground, he could see that he was in some sort of forest clearing, surrounded by large, leafy trees. He stood, and gasped in pain. The skin on his knees was shredded, from the sharp rocks he had landed on. He spat on his hand and tried to wipe away the blood. He soon gave up, he was just making it worse. He looked to the sky, it looked around noon. Where was he? He felt fear creep up his throat. What if no one ever found him? It's not like his parents would actually notice he was missing. His breath quickened as he panicked and he almost started hyperventilating, before he forced himself to calm down. He had to think logically.

Harry realised that he couldn't stay here forever, he had to find a place to stay for the night. After a few minutes of internal debate, Harry decided to go forward, though the trees. Just as he was almost out of earshot, he heard a slight sound, like a branch being cracked, and a gasping sob.

Harry stiffened. He slowly, cautiously crept back towards the clearing. He was hoping that an adult, any adult had found him. To say he was shocked by what he saw instead was an understatement.

In the clearing, a girl, around Harry's age, lay crying on the ground, clutching her left hand to her chest. Harry was shocked to see that her bright yellow tee-shirt was stained with blood. Harry ran to the girl as fast as he could, danger forgotten. When she saw him she whimpered, but otherwise didn't acknowledge his presence.

"He-hello?" Harry questioned. "Do-do you need so help?"

The girl gasped in pain. "Can-can you please-ow!- please help me sit?"

Harry helped the girl sit, so she was leaning against the trunk of a nearby tree.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

The girl grimaced and held out her left hand. It was covered in blood. Where her middle finger should have been, there was a bloody, clean gap instead. It was as though someone had cut though the finger cleanly, leaving nothing behind.

"I-I was just in-" Here she muttered something Harry couldn't make out, before she continued. "and- and I was wishing that-that I could just get away from it-it all. And then, I just- I think it was accidental magic-"The girl cut herself off, looking horrified. "Forget- Forget I said that!"

"It's okay! It's okay, I'm not a muggle. I mean, I know about magic. And I think the same thing happened to me. But-But what happened to your finger?"

The girl looked relived and seemed to get a better hold of herself.. "I think I splinched myself. Gods, I'm being such a baby about this. Do you have any sort of… I dunno, cloth?"

Harry ripped of the bottom of his shirt with difficulty, his small, thin arms strained from the effort and gave it to the girl, who clumsily wrapped it around her hand, whimpering and choking back a sob as it brushed against the gap between her fingers.

Harry helped her stand. She leant heavily against him for a second, before she stood on her own, a determined look on her face. She tried to wipe the tear trails off her face, but only succeeded in smudging her cheek in dark, sticky blood. She mumbled something about having to learn to use her right hand before she turned to Harry, her hazel eyes bloodshot and wet.

"Do you have any idea where we are?" the girl asked. Harry shook his head.

"No idea. I got here just before you, I think. I'm Harry, by the way."

"I'm Sally. Sally-Anne Perks. But please don't call me that, just call me Sally."

"Okay, Sally! So where are we going from here?" Harry asked, trying to keep the worry and fear he was feeling from his voice. They couldn't afford to panic.

"What if we get lost forever, here?" Sally asked, worry clear in her voice.

Harry didn't have an answer.

"Well, I think we should try to find some grown-ups, or at least find some sort of cave or something. We should go…left. Let's go left." Sally exclaimed.

"Why left?" Harry wondered aloud. Sally just shrugged. "I like left. And left almost rhymes with best, so it's probably a good way to go."

Even though Harry doubted Sally's logic, he didn't have a better idea, so he followed Sally into the forest. What both children didn't know, was that they had just left their old lives behind, maybe forever.

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**Bleh. I hate this chapter, but no matter what I did I wasn't satisfied. Too many emotions to write. And it's so short! I was planning on finishing the entire scene but I just couldn't bothered. Any who, yes, I went with Sally-Anne Perks, who is a cannon character suggested to me by the wonderful Teufel1987. I'm sorry if you're not happy with her, but I thought she was the best option. Anyway, thank you to everyone for your suggestions and comments. If you have any questions just review or P.M me. See you next time!**


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